Cornell vs Pennsylvania Prediction 1/18/25 College Basketball Picks

The Cornell Big Red and the Pennsylvania Quakers meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Palestra. Here’s a Cornell vs Penn prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Cornell and Penn pick. We will examine:

The Cornell Big Red’s recent form and player performance

The Pennsylvania Quakers’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Cornell Big Red

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Pennsylvania Quakers

Recent betting trends in games played between Cornell vs Penn

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Cornell vs Penn game

Cornell Big Red Betting Preview

The Big Red have been one of the more consistent teams in the Ivy League so far this year, as they’ve only experienced consecutive losses once so far. Cornell started out on a shaky 4-3 run with losses to La Salle, Robert Morris, and Syracuse, taking wins otherwise versus Marywood, Samford, Lafayette, and Iona in that time. A three-game win streak over Colgate, Army, and California came next, then losses to Illinois State and Siena. Since then it’s been a couple of victories over Penn State-Schuylkill and Columbia in the last pair, giving the Big Red a 9-5 overall record through their first 14 games of the 2024-25 season.

Matched up against Columbia last weekend, the Big Red came out of halftime looking at a 51-31 edge on the scoreboard. Cornell hit a 52-43 deficit the rest of the way but held on for the sizable win 94-83 in the end. Tops in scoring was Jacob Beccles with 23 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 18 minutes off the bench. Starter Cooper Noard added 20 points with four rebounds, and AK Okereke put up 12 points with five assists in the win.

Penn Quakers Betting Preview

Over on the Pennsylvania side, they’ve had a significantly more difficult time this year. The Quakers took out NJIT and Maryland Eastern Shore in their first two games, but haven’t been able to win consecutive outings since then. Penn lost to Lafayette, Saint Joseph’s, Villanova, and Navy before a win over Maine, then continued the skid versus Elon, Drexel, and VCU in the next trio. Since then it’s been a win over Rider ahead of losses to George Mason, Penn State, and Dartmouth over the last four games, giving the Quakers a rough 4-10 record so far.

In the Dartmouth game last Saturday, the Quakers held a 31-29 edge by halftime. Penn was outpaced 44-39 the rest of the way, posting a 73-70 defeat by the end of the game. Leading the way in the losing effort was Nick Spinoso with 16 points, eight boards, three assists, and a block. Ethan Roberts added 12 points with six boards and six turnovers, while Sam Brown came off the bench for 12 points, seven boards, and three assists. Michael Zanoni chipped in with 11 points and two rebounds in 30 minutes as well.

Why the Penn Quakers will win

• Penn has won each of its last eight home day games against the Ivy League.
• Cornell has lost 10 of its last 11 games against the Ivy League at Palestra.
• Cornell has lost the first half in each of its last four games at Palestra against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Cornell Big Red will win

• Penn has lost eight of its last nine day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Cornell has won each of its last four road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Cornell vs Penn Prediction

I’m staying with Cornell. The Big Red looked pretty impressive in their latest win over a good Columbia squad, hitting 63.3 percent from the field and 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) from 3-point range. The only major critique was Cornell’s 13 turnovers for 13 Lions points, but after a 20-point edge in the first half, that hardly mattered in the grand scheme. Cornell has been a great offensive team all year. They’ve hit 72 or more points in all 14 games, and they’ve notched 77 or more in seven straight outings (a 5-2 stretch).

As for Penn, they’ve been below 67 points in five of the last seven games (a 1-6 run), so it’s tough to imagine them keeping pace here—even at home. I like Cornell to assert themselves early and control this one wire to wire.